Let go of that monster girl!

"A more refined clay modeling method could be tried, but even if the rifling can be made, the clay model needs about three months to fully set and dry."

That won't do. If we wait three months, the month of disaster will be almost here.

Molen rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

"Isn't there also the lost-wax method? You carve a model of the cannon barrel out of wax, including the rifling, then coat the outside with refractory clay, cast it into a mold, burn off the wax, and pour in molten copper."

The blacksmith mice looked at each other, and the leader put down his hammer and whispered:

"But, my lord, where would you get wax from in the Dark Zone?"

Chapter 21 Delicious Monster Girl

In the baron's castle kitchen, the cook's small hands were kneading a mushroom pancake on the counter.

Mushroom powder lacks gluten, so it's loose and crumbly when kneaded, requiring extra care to control the pressure.

You have to keep dipping your palms in water while kneading it to barely shape it into a round cake.

The stove was designed according to the height of the mouse girl; it was short, about the height of a human thigh.

In a small wooden box next to the stove, there were several round, plump, light yellow mushrooms.

The umbrella was not yet open, tightly wrapped up.

The Baron said these are newly sprouted nutritious mushroom seedlings, and asked the kitchen to try them before they open up to see if they taste better.

The cook neatly arranged the kneaded mushroom cakes on an iron plate, bent down, and put them into the oven.

Then he straightened up, patted the mushroom powder off his hands, and picked up the small mushrooms and a kitchen knife from the box.

The little mushrooms are round and cute, and when you cut them open, they're white, which looks much better than the brownish-gray of dried mushrooms.

Squeak.

The kitchen door creaked open, and Lyme walked in carrying a large ceramic milk jug, carefully placing it on the table.

"Fresh mouse milk".

The cook, holding a kitchen knife, looked at her gently:

"Why didn't you go to class?"

"After you're done, help the giant rat groom its fur."

Before the caravan left, Morren rented two giant rats.

She paused for a moment, then added:

"The giant rat is so well-behaved."

"Lyme is so well-behaved."

The cook laughed, stood on tiptoe, reached out her little hand, and patted Lime's head. Then she turned around, stepped onto the small wooden stool by the stove, and reached for the corner of the high cabinet.

She took out a small, round glass jar containing amber-colored, viscous liquid, with only a little bit left.

The cook removed the cork lid and scraped the bottom of the jar a few times with a small spoon.

"Come on, open your mouth."

Lyme obediently opened her mouth, and the spoon gently scraped her little tongue.

She pursed her lips, savoring the sweet taste, and asked curiously:

"What's sweet?"

"It's honey for good children."

The cook smiled and put the small glass jar back in place on the cabinet. Then she picked up the heavy milk jar and poured the raw mouse milk into the copper pot on the stove.

The bottom of the pot is hot, the milk is heated up, and small bubbles quickly appear on the surface.

So this is the honey the master was talking about. Lyme licked his lips.

"So sweet."

The tiny white bubbles became denser and denser, the temperature slowly rose, and a thin layer of milk skin gradually formed.

Once the milk skin had completely floated to the surface, the cook carefully skimmed it into a bowl on the side.

Then, scoop out a small piece of precious butter from another earthenware pot and put it into a small frying pan.

Stir-fry the minced dried meat, and the tender mushroom slices absorb the oil. Then add hot milk and a pinch of salt, and gently stir with a spoon.

It smells a little strange, but it also smells strangely nice.

"It smells good."

Lyme moved closer to the stove.

"This is cream of mushroom soup."

The cook squatted down and added a piece of wood to the stove.

"Dried mushrooms are always hard to eat no matter how you cook them. I wonder if adding milk and a little meat this time, and making the mushrooms more tender, will make them any better."

"The Baron worries himself sick every day, but as a chef, I can't even make things taste a little bit better."

Sometimes I really feel like I'm so useless.

The fire crackled in the stove, and the soup pot bubbled.

Looking at the somewhat disappointed cook, Lime recalled the taste of the honey cakes under the windmill that day, and the words of encouragement her master had given her.

No one had ever mentioned it before it met its owner.

Those fox-girl slave traders would only introduce their products to buyers with a mocking expression:

"But don't be disgusted by the mess. As long as you fill their bodies with enough alkali, sugar, and cow's milk, you can make delicious Mincho ice cream. It's simply wonderful."

……

Lime tugged at the hem of the cook's apron.

"Um... is there any baking soda in the kitchen?"

About four meal times later.

Molen remained seated behind his cluttered desk, staring blankly at the simple sketch.

The sketch in front of us has been redrawn several times, but simply changing the structure still cannot solve the problem of the process.

In a dark area, there is no light, no flowers, and therefore no wax.

Paraffin wax is also wax, but it is a byproduct of the petroleum industry, which is even more advanced technology.

Molen has been traveling for so long, and he hasn't seen a single piece of coal, let alone oil.

We can't just get a few makeshift cannons to make do, can we? It's hard to say whether those things will be useful during the disaster month.

Fighting the chimera beasts is already difficult enough, and they pose no threat to the foxes at all. We can't gamble on the slave traders remaining inactive for these four months.

Molen scratched his head with the end of his charcoal pencil.

Should I try a chemical solution? This is giving me a headache.

The office door was gently pushed open a crack.

Lime, holding a silver plate, said in a very shy voice:

"Please have a meal, Master."

"Let's leave it for now, I don't have much of an appetite."

Lyme placed the plate on the corner of the table, but did not turn to leave.

She stood by the table, her body swaying slightly, as if she was hesitating about something.

Molen finally raised his head, his gaze instantly drawn to it.

In the center of the silver plate were two light-colored puddings, round and plump, with a touch of rose red in the very center, trembling slightly with Lime's movements.

A gentle honey scent mixed with milky aroma wafts out, sweet but not cloying, like the gentle fragrance of a young girl.

Molen picked up the small spoon on the side of the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

Cool and refreshing, it is very firm and resilient, with just the right amount of elasticity to suit the tongue. The warm milky aroma and light sweetness are accompanied by a hint of shy sourness.

It was incredibly delicious.

Lyme had his hands behind his back, leaned slightly forward, and his little face was full of tension.

Molen scooped up another spoonful and put it in his mouth without hesitation.

"Very tasty."

Lyme smiled, a very small smile.

"The water in the dark lake isn't cold enough to make ice cream."

She explained in a low voice, her tone tinged with regret.

Mincho ice cream is said to have been invented by the Mincho witch.

After the witch was hunted down and disappeared in the North, people unexpectedly discovered that slime had an excellent texture that was remarkably similar to that of mocha ice cream.

Because of its firm texture, slime can be made into giant desserts without easily collapsing, making it popular at aristocratic banquets and welcomed by young ladies.

The supply couldn't keep up with demand, which gave the slime girls a whole new way to die.

Molen's spoon stopped in mid-air.

He looked down at the pudding in the bowl and gently patted its gelatinous surface with the back of a spoon.

Snap, snap, snap, snap.

Molen stopped what he was doing, his face showing a sudden realization.

"Lyme, you're a true genius."

Chapter 22 Monster Girl Molding Method!

Full, round, and soft without losing its shape.

The slime gel changed shape in Molen's hands.

First it was squeezed into a thick triangle, then pulled into a spiral cone, and finally kneaded back into a robust cylinder.

To be honest, Molen actually thinks he has some skill in dough sculpting.

The onlookers, mostly rat girls, whispered among themselves.

"The Baron's methods are so despicable."

Before his transmigration, he had only seen others do face carving at temple fairs, but he was surprised to find that he had quite a talent for it.

I never expected that something so soft and bouncy would feel so amazing.

He took the damp towel handed to him by the maid mouse, carefully wiped his hands, and took two steps back with satisfaction to examine his masterpiece.

A 1:1 scale model of a cannon made entirely of slime stands on a wooden frame in the center of the workshop.

The cannon barrel is straight, with a diameter of about three inches. The barrel wall is thick and uniform, and the surface made of rubber is naturally smooth without the need for polishing.

The breech of the cannon barrel tapers into a precise circular shape, with a threaded interface for sealing off the smoke but only a space is left, not yet engraved.

The breechblock was also made entirely of rubber, a cylindrical bolt about the size of two fists.

It has an easy-to-rotate handle at the end and sits separately on a wooden board next to it.

The entire model is nearly two meters long from the muzzle to the breech, exactly matching the design in Morren's sketch.

Compared to wax sculpting or clay sculpting, the process of creating large models using slime gel is probably closer to dough sculpting or chocolate sculpting.

Molen is a born pastry chef.

Slime with the right moisture content can be easily shaped, exhibiting excellent plasticity. Furthermore, as long as the moisture content is properly controlled, the dehydration process will not alter its shape.

After being fully dehydrated, the slime gel has a firm texture, even firmer than candy.

While its hardness is among the best in the dessert world, it may not be enough to support the weight of such a huge model.

This is where the tricks I learned from the pastry chef come in.